Description:

Iwo Jima - Iwo Jima Flag Raiser Rene Gagnon writes to his future wife from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot


Rare Autograph Letter Signed "Rene," 2 pages, 7" x 10.25", front and verso. Parris Island, S.C., June 26, 1943. To "Darling Kiddo," his future wife, Pauline Harnois. Lightly toned at margins. Fine condition.

In part, "I will drop you a line and tell you a little so I will have lest [sic, less] to tell you tomorrow which will be Sunday, then I'll have plenty of time and I'll write you a long letter. I will tell you the good news right away. I got a letter from Floyd and my suit will be ready when I come home on furlough. I will pick it up and pay for it any day I want to when I am on furlough, isn't that swell. Now that I've got a dress uniform we'll be able to go to a formal dance, and I won't have [to] wory [sic] about renting a tuxedo. I am sending you the letter that Helen [her sister] sent me so you won't have to worry anymore as you'll see she didn't write anything about you, so you can stop worrying ... Hold it a minute I've got to go out I'll be right back. Well here I am back again but I guess its about time I sign off, because I'm going to bed now; Imagine my going to bed at 8.30 on Saturday night, my oh my what a dull life, but if its to keep swell little girls like you safe, well give me the dull life. With love as ever Rene. P.S. I am enclosing two Marine pins [not present] one for you and one for Helen. Notice the anchor does not go in the same way as the real one you've got, they are not real ones."

In 1943, 18-year-old Rene Gagnon was drafted and elected to join the Marine Corps Reserve on May 6, 1943. He was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. On July 16, 1943, 20 days after writing this letter from Parris Island, Gagnon was promoted to Private First Class. On April 8, 1944, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. In September, the 5th division left Camp Pendleton for further training at Camp Tarawa, Hawaii, for the assault on Iwo Jima by three Marine divisions of the V Amphibious Corps.

On February 23, 1945, atop Mt. Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, six American soldiers - five Marines and one Navy corpsman - planted the American flag. Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize in Photography "for his photograph of the Marines planting the American flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima." After President Franklin D. Roosevelt continued to see the AP photograph in newspapers across the country, he issued a Presidential Order: "Transfer immediately by air to Washington, D.C. the 6 men who appear in the Rosenthal photograph of flag raising at Mt. Suribachi." What he didn't know was that three of the soldiers, all Marines, had died at Iwo Jima: Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, and Private First Class Franklin Sousley.

On May 14, 1945, under the slogan "The Mighty Seventh," the 7th United States War Loan drive officially began. Marine Private First Class Rene A. Gagnon, Marine Private First Class Ira H. Hayes, and Pharmacists Mate 2nd Class John H. Bradley toured the nation with the tattered American flag they helped raise on Mt. Suribachi three months earlier. The drive continued for seven weeks until June 30, 1945. In Baltimore, on July 7,1945, Rene Gagnon (1925-1979) and Pauline Harnois (1926-2006) were married.

On November 7, 1954, the three survivors of the flag raising met for the last time at the dedication of the 78-foot tall Marine Corps War Memorial based upon Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer prizewinning photograph.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000